Lyndsey Scott Tells Us What It's Like To Be A Victoria's Secret Model Who Codes In Her Free Time

As much as we try to fight it, most people have a very
stereotypical image come to mind when they think of coders and
software entrepreneurs: pale, unshaven, twenty-something males.

Lyndsey Scott is none of those things. Though passionate about
acting, she majored in computer science in college and then went
on to become a model for brands such as Victoria's Secret, Gucci,
and Prada.

We first learned about Lyndsey and her surprising workload from
her profile on Stack Overflow, a site that
lets programmers ask questions about their code and get helpful
responses from other members of the community with expertise on
specific topics.

She's something of a celebrity on the site: users gain reputation
points for providing helpful answers and the site keeps track of
the number of views each profile attracts. To date, she's gained
over 1,000 reputation points and her profile has been viewed over
38,000 times.

Earlier this week, Lyndsey and I had a chat about her modeling
and coding careers. Read on for her thoughts on developing for
iOS over Android, being a "lurker" on a coding forum, and what it
takes to get young women into coding and computers.

William Lords

When did you get into coding?

Lyndsey Scott: I started programming games on my TI-89 calculator
in middle school or early high school, but I never thought of it as “coding.” I
just thought of it as a way to create cool games to
play with.

How did you choose computer science as a major? What
school did you go to?

From the very beginning, I knew I'd pursue theatre as a major and
thought I'd pursue Economics as a second. Luckily, I went to
Amherst College and the open curriculum
there allowed me to
try all different things. I took Russian and English Literature
courses, I took math courses ... At some point I backed
away from Econ, considered majoring in Physics,
but since Physics
didn't fit into my schedule during one semester, I decided to
give Comp. Sci. a try. Right away, I was hooked. It was an
easy decision. My mind just wrapped itself
around those
particular concepts and logic so easily.

Did you consider any software engineering jobs after
college?

I didn't consider any software engineering jobs. I knew I wanted
to pursue acting and I started auditioning in NY as soon as I
graduated.

When did you get into modeling?

At some point after college, I started looking more like a model
and many people suggested I give it a try. So I went to every agency
in New York, was rejected by each, and
after resigning
myself to the fact that modeling wasn't for me, an agency
happened to find my pictures online and offered me a
contract.

David Bellemere/Flaunt
Magazine

Are you still modeling?

Yes, I'm still modeling. And I love it. It's a type of acting –
transforming into different characters and creating lasting works of
art. I have so much fun doing it and I hope to do it
as long as I
can!

What made you decide to get back into coding? How long
have you been a
"lurker" on Stack Overflow?

I've intermittently done programming of some kind or another
since college and though I only created my profile once I needed to ask my
first question, I probably have read forum
posts on Stack
Overflow for a few years now.

I see on your Stack Overflow profile that you do a lot of
work with Cocoa/Objective-C/iOS development. What
made you go with iOS as your target platform for app
development?

I like how Apple devices, unlike Android devices, are
standardized; but I would love to eventually program for Android as
well.

What other languages do you have experience with? What do
you like and
dislike about the languages/tool sets you worked with?

I've programmed in Java, C++, Python, and I've also done a little
programming in MIPS. I'm a
huge fan of Python – it's super intuitive and I imagine if I were
to write my own programming language, it would look a lot like Python.
But at the same time, I tend to focus on
one language at a
time and I'm so immersed in Objective-C right now that my Python
would definitely
need a brush up if I were to get back to it.

Prada

What are you working on now?

I'm currently working on a pretty cool networking app that I hope
to release within the next month.

Are you aiming at the iPhone, the iPad, or both for your
app(s)?

It depends... My iPort app (available on the Apple App Store) is solely
for iPads since it's a portfolio app for models and other artists
that is best viewed and edited from a larger
device; but in most
cases, I prefer to design my apps for use on both iPhones and
iPads just to give users the option.

What's your current development machine? Do you have a
special work setup?

Just my MacBook Air for now. I'm definitely considering an
upgrade though because, although it's a great device and easily
portable, I keep running out of space.

There's been a bit of controversy lately with a
particular VC claiming that it's tough to get girls into coding
and computers. Do you think that's true? What do you think needs
to be done to get more young women into computer
science?

Ha, yes, I'm aware of the controversy. I read through his
interview and although I think people are definitely reaching by calling
him "sexist." Thirteen-year-old girls can easily
become interested
in computers and technology as long as they're given the
opportunity.

I know
I personally became
interested in programming when I was 13 or younger as soon as I
realized I had a
TI-89 calculator capable of being programmed and a book full of
documentation. I think, in general, many young people would
love to better understand what goes into
making the
technology they use on a regular basis, but too few of them are
given the opportunity.

Just last month though,
students around the world were in fact given an opportunity with
the release of
Code.org's Hour Of Code and over 20 million
of them tried programming for the first time within weeks. And please pass
along this message for me to this “particular
VC”: Most of
them were girls!